USA > Missouri > Jasper County > A history of Jasper County, Missouri, and its people, Vol. I > Part 30
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Next to the building of the water works the adoption of the third- class charter was the most important happening of the 'eighties, be- cause it opened up a way for publie improvements, such as street pav- ing and the construction of sewers, as well as many police regulations not provided for in the old charter.
With these regulations and renewed confidence in Joplin's future greatness a building boom came on which did not abate until the panic of 1893. During 1888 the area of the city was increased, extending from the original southern limits at Tenth street to Fourteenth. South Joplin built up very rapidly, two additions being laid out and quickly sold that year. The next year, 1889, five more additions were placed on the market and the city limits extended to Twentieth street.
1889
The election of this year was notable because it was the last one held without nomination from the several political parties, and also the first one held under the new charter. the time being by the new laws changed from October to April.
The following were the successful candidates: Mayor, R. B. Tyler; recorder (police jndge), W. B. MeAntire; city attorney, J. W. McAn- tire; marshal. J. J. Cofer; treasurer-collector, J. W. Calvin ; council- men. First ward, Harmon Cline and JJas. A. Sherwood : Second ward. A. 1. Hoyt and Frank Geier: Third ward, Z. A. Norris and J. A. Roach ; Fourth ward, T. J. Field and W. V. White.
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JOPLIN FIRE DEPARTMENT
After the completion of the water works the matter of organizing a fire department was taken up by the city eouneil and a call was issued for a meeting at the Tabernacle on November 6, 1882, to perfeet the organization. The meeting was largely attended and a volunteer depart- ment organized from among the best citizens of Joplin.
Clark Craycroft was chosen chief and G. W. Payton assistant. Four companies were organized, one for each ward, as follows: Hose Com- pany No. 1, G. W. Payton, foreman ; Hose Company No. 2, A. P. Hoyt, foreman : Hose Company No. 3, Jno. C. Bailey, foreman; Hose Com- pany, No. 4, L. A. Fillmore, foreman.
The companies were equipped with hose earts, each earrying 2,500 feet of hose, and as an inducement for proficieney the company which threw water first on a fire was given a prize of ten dollars, in addition to $1.50 which each firemen attending received.
In 1884 Major Craycroft retired from the department and George W. Payton of Company No. I became chief. Excepting one year he served as such until 1890. Aaron Hanghton beeame assistant.
When Mr. Payton became chief Companies 1 and 2 were named in honor of two of the citizens who had won the favor of the community on account of their public spiritedness. No. 1 took the name of the S. C. Henderson Ilose Company, in honor of Joplin's first whole- sale grocer, and No. 2 became the C. J. Lewis Hose Company, Mr. Lewis at that time being superintendent of the water company and having been prominently connected with many other publie enterprises.
During the 'eighties the volunteer fire department attained a high state of proficiency and at the tournament of the Southwestern Fire- men's Association carried off a number of prizes.
At the Southwestern firemen's tournament held in Carthage in June, 1888, and attended by 1.400 firemen from Missouri, Kansas, and Arkan- sas, S. C. IIenderson Company No. 1, carried off first prize in the 100- yard contest, making the run, laying 100 feet of hose and throwing water. C. J. Lewis Company No. 2 won first prize in the 200-yard con- test, their time being 1:18.
In April, 1889, John W. Gillis was appointed chief and L. A. Fill- more assistant chief. The head of the department secured from the city council an appropriation of $500 for uniforms for his men. At the tournament at Clinton that year the Joplin department made a most elegant showing and won the prize offered for the best appearing de- partment attending the meeting. During this year Capt. C. J. Lewis, after whom Company 2 was named, moved to Hannibal and the mem- bers of the company presented him, on the eve of his departure, with an elegant silver loving cup as a testimonial of their regard for him.
BANKS AND BANKING
During the 'eighties two new financial institutions were launched in Joplin and both were successful to a high degree.
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In February, 1882, Thomas W. Cunningham established the Bank of Joplin. George A. Case, who had been the cashier of the Moffet & Sergeant bank of Joplin, was made the cashier of the new concern, and remained with it until the middle 'nincties, when he retired on account of ill health. The Bank of Joplin had a most unique history. Its cap- ital was $5,000. At the end of the first year the greater portion of the earnings was carried into the surplus; and at the close of each suc- cecding year the surplus was increased and continued to grow until 1907, when it reached $300,000, sixty times the capital. During the panic of 1907, Mr. Cunningham, with the view of helping relieve the financial stringency, nationalized his bank, thus converting $200,000 of bonds into ready cash and materially assisting in reestablishing con- fidence in Joplin.
The First National Bank of Joplin was organized in January, 1888, with the following officers and directors: President, Chas. Schiller- dicker ; vice president, D. A. Preston ; cashier, J. A. Cragin; directors. E. Lloyd, Galen Spencer, L. Riseling and J. C. Stewart.
The bank opened for business during the following March. One of its first important transactions was the purchase of thirty thousand dollars of the City of Joplin funding bonds, issned on the occasion of the surrender of the old city charter and the organization of a city of the third class.
This bank showed its faith in Joplin by building a three-story brick bank building during the early 'nineties. It has recently acquired the Empire Building between Fifth and Sixth streets, on Main street, and will shortly move into larger quarters.
THE NORTH ROAD
One of the important factors in the building up of Ancient Rome was her magnificent system of public roads. The imperial government recognized Rome as the hub around which the commerce of the nation revolved, and so, like spokes in a wheel, well built and splendidly ma- cadamized roads were constructed in all directions from the city and an easy mode of transportation provided, so that all business would center in the city on the Tiber, "All roads lead to Rome."
In 1886 the business men of Joplin recognized the importance of more and better-built roads leading into Joplin, and a committee, con- sisting of C. J. Lewis, Charles Schifferdecker, A. F. Donnan, and others. was appointed to devise ways and means to build a road running north from Joplin to Spring river. Some $3,000 was subscribed, the right-of- way obtained across the Kansas City Bottom and a fine road worked from First street and Main to Galesburg. This was the beginning of our splendid road system.
MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILWAY
The Missouri Pacific Railway was built to Joplin in 1882, the first train from Kansas City running into the city on June 19th. A. O. T.
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Pennington, a most accommodating and pleasant gentleman, came to Joplin as agent for the road and his affable manners soon built up for the road an extensive patronage.
This line was of immense value to Joplin and the entire mining district, because it gave another competing line to both St. Louis & Kan- sas City. The Missouri Pacific Railway also brought to the city another express train-the Pacific Express Company-and materially facilitated transportation facilities.
THE SPLITLOG (KANSAS CITY AND SOUTHERN ) RAILWAY
In 1887 a wealthy Indian, Mathias Splitlog, living in MeDonald county, conceived the idea of building a railway from North Arkansas to Kansas City, and put up a considerable sum toward organizing a company which was formed, having for its object the building of a line from the Gulf of Mexico to Kansas City.
The line was first built from the Cowskin river in McDonald county, to Joplin, and formally opened January 1, 1889. On January 3rd Mayor Livingston, the city council and about 200 business men as the guests of the railroad visited Neosho and were royally entertained by the people of that place. On January 7th Neosho gave Joplin a surprise party, coming up en masse, to return the visit.
These two friendly visits were the beginning of a friendly business relation between the two cities which has existed to this day. The name of the road was shortly afterward changed to the Pittsburg & Gulf, and on its completion to Kansas City became the Kansas City & Southern.
SCHOOLS DURING THE 'EIGHTIES
As mentioned in our school story of the 'seventies there was three separate school districts in Joplin-East Joplin, West Joplin and Lone Elm. The schools were operated separately until 1889, when they were consolidated into a city district, but before taking up the narrative of the organization of the school district of Joplin we will touch briefly the im- portant happenings of the three districts up to the consolidation.
In East Joplin the course of study was divided into eight years' work, but the eight years were equivalent to the course of study mapped out for the graded schools and most of the branches in the first two years in the high school, as now arranged. There was no attempt at a formal graduation, but on the completion of the work nearly every pupil went before the county school commissioner and took the examination for a teacher's certificate and the passing of this examination was equivalent to a completion of the course of study. Of course many of the pupils who secured certificates did not intend to teach, but secured them as a matter of personal pride and for the purpose of having something to show for their school work. Of the seventeen pupils in the A class, room 1, for 1884, every one successfully passed the teacher's examination and
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was granted a certificate. A high standard was maintained in East Jop- lin until 1886, when a crisis came which detraeted from the thoroughness of the school work.
The general assembly of 1885 passed a law forbidding the issuance of a warrant when there was no money in the treasury to meet the same. It so happened that at the close of 1885 there was a deficit and warrants had been issued to pay salaries and ineidental expenses of that year and had to be taken care of out of the revenue of 1886. This necessitated a short term, brought the schools to a close at the end of four months and a half and prevented the class of 1886 completing the course mapped ont. During the winter of 1886 the pupils gave several entertainments to raise money for coal, one of which, by the way, was a money maker. It was given in an improvised theater-a store room half filled with baled hay. This was no drawback however, for where there is a will there is a way. A stage was made by piling up one tier of baled hay and cover- ing it with planks brought in from a lumberyard. On either side of the wall the bales were extended to the ceiling giving a stage-like effect and also serving the purpose of wings. Chairs were brought in and the en- tertainment was given to a packed house, enough money being raised to buy coal the rest of the winter.
We append below a list of the gentlemen who served the district as members of the school board and the teaching force when it was the East Joplin School District.
Members of the school board: John C. Cox. Jeremiah Fink, D. P. Ballard, G. D. Jackson, H. J. Blackwell, J. C. Maddy, D. Y. Moore, F. A. MeClelland, G. W. Payton, W. L. Harris, T. K. Medder, O. B. Ham- lin, J. B. Thomas, T. B. Samles, Calvin Niekell, James Woodward, E. M. Nash, J. W. Henry, J. T. Martin. B. Wilson, D. S. Lutman, J. W. Newton and N. B. Liehliter.
Principals : S. B. Ormsby (1874-5), S. A. Underwood, James A. Raee, G. W. Mckinney, T. H. Riffer, L. B. Burr, J. M. Stevenson, Miss Janette Houghton, J. F. Martin, Walter Atkinson, W. P. Roberts, Mrs. Jennie Gilliland, Henry Phelps and W. L. Taylor.
Teachers : Anna Heath, Georgia Gates, W. B. Webster, Geo. Il. Smeetzer, Josie Culpepper, W. H. Jolm, Tealie Underwood, Emma Shorter, Mrs. Fannie Hays, Mrs. Emma Young. Fannie Nickell, Joel T. Livingston, Jennie Robertson. Rebecca Snyder. W. A. Niekell and Kate Reid.
LONE ELM SCHOOL DISTRICT
In 1880 the Lone Ehn school began to decline, not in efficiency, be- cause it continued up to the consolidation to be a strong school, but in point of numbers.
In 1879 a dispute arose between the citizens of Lone Elin and the Granby Company, the owners of the fee to the land on which the great majority of the houses were built. Up to that date no ground rent for
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the space occupied by the houses, had been charged to the miners work- ing their land, and many of them owned the houses in which they lived. The later part of 1879, however, the company changed its policy and de- cided to charge a monthly rental for the ground. The miners felt that as they were developing the land and making for the company handsome royalties they were entitled to live near the mines and that ground rent should not be imposed. About the time that this controversy was started Messrs. Byers and Murphy laid out an addition to the city west of the 'Frisco railway tracks and placed them on the market at an exceptionally small price.
A hundred or more families from Lone Elm bought lots in the new suburb and moved their houses to this new haven of refuge, which was called Byersville. As a result of this exodus, the school enumeration of 1880 showed a decided falling off and the apportionment of the public funds gave to Lone Elm a greatly reduced sum.
The following served in the Lone Elm schools during the 'eighties : L. Z. Burr, Tealie Underwood, D. B. Wilson, J. W. Henry, G. P. Gar- land, H. Phelps and Philip Arnold as principals ; and Mrs. L. Z. Burr, Mrs. Sue Phelps, A. W. Mitchel, Rachel Shaw, William H. Lee, Amanda Wilson, Helen Jones, and several others whose names are not obtainable on account of the failure to preserve the old records, as under-teachers.
WEST JOPLIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The year 1880 found the population of the three school districts as follows: East Joplin, 1,712; West Joplin, 4,526; Lone Elm, 1,200 .*
It will be noted by these figures that West Joplin had outstripped both East Joplin and Lone Ehn and contained a population of approx- imately 1,500 more than the other two districts combined and was by this time counted the main part of the town. Naturally, therefore, the West Joplin schools grew in importance-and West Joplin was the first district to establish a high school.
During the fall of 1879 J. C. Mason resigned the superintendeney to take up the practice of law and the Rev. J. F. Martin filled out the un- expired term, teaching the High School, as the highest room was called, in the study of the Tabernacle. For the term of 1880-1 Philip Arnold was made superintendent and served until 1884, when Mr. Mason was again recalled and the high school placed in charge of Mr. Arnold. Dur- ing Mr. Arnold's incumbency and as superintendent, Messrs. C. II. Lethbridge. Henry Phelps and J. M. Stephenson had charge of the High School.
THE BUILDING OF THE CENTRAL SCHOOL
At a special election held February 7, 1883, the West Joplin School Distriet voted $20,000 in bonds for the erection of school houses; $16,200 was apportioned for the Central school building: $2.500 for a two-room
* These figures represent the entire population and include a few hundred residing on the outskirts of the city, but a part of the several school districts,
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sehool at Byersville; $400 for the moving of the Byersville sehool to Per- kins avenue (now the Garfield) and $900 for a colored school.
The teaching foree was inereased and the pupils nicely taken care of until after the consolidation of the three districts in 1889, when a build- ing boom eame on.
Mr. Mason was sueeeeded, in 1886, by W. T. Hammer of Lamar and he, in 1888, by R. D. Shannon, late state superintendent of sehools.
FORMAL ADOPTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL COURSE
Until 1886 the school board had not formally adopted a specific course of study for the high school, or prescribed the standard of exeelleney for graduation, but had left the course of study and the rules and regula- tions largely to the superintendent and high school teachers. New branches had been added from time to time until the course of study pursned equalled that of Carthage, Springfield and other southwestern Missouri eities, but no attempt had been made at graduation. On the coming of Superintendent Hammer, however, the board formally promul- gated a high school course and the pupils, who heretofore worked at ran- dom-that is, so far as graduation was concerned-were elassified and began to work toward a definite end, the first class graduating in 1888.
The first high school course consisted of three years' work, as fol- lows: First year-Higher arithmetic, United States history, grammar, zoology, composition, physiology and botany.
Second year-Algebra, general history, physiology, geology, physies, elocution and natural philosophy.
Third year-Geometry, rhetorie, English and American literature, mental and moral philosophy.
ARBOR DAY
Arbor day was first observed in the Joplin schools, April 16, 1886. when a large number of trees were planted and the school yards beanti- fied. At the Central school, in April, 1887, appropriate exercises were held and a large number of trees planted by the pupils, each room pur- chasing and planting a tree which was named after some great citizen of the nation. The two trees planted by the High School were named Peter Cooper and Lafayette, while other rooms in the grade planted trees commemorating Washington, Jefferson, Garfield and other noted states- men. Many of these trees lived and to this day furnish shade in the old school grounds.
THE FIRST COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES
This first class from the West Joplin schools was graduated May 18, 1888. The following are its members and the grades made at the final examination : Ida Coffee, 96.8; Cora Lichliter, 96.7; Mamie Robertson. 96.5; Johanna Becker, 96; Tillie Hamilton, 95.6; Lee Lichliter, 95.1; William A. Nickell, 94.5; Blanche Sergeant, 94.4: Taylor Snapp, 91.9 :
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Cora Hoyt, 90.9; Leroy Lapsley, 90.8 ; Olivar P. Simpson, 90.2 and Will- iam Lackie, 89.
Of this class the first seven became teachers ; one of them, W. A. Nick- ell, principal of the Jackson school, is still connected with the schools and is the oldest teacher of the corps in point of continuous service.
Two, T. F. Snapp and Olivar P. Simpson, became bankers and are still prominent in the financial world.
Leroy Lapsley became an electrician of note and William Lackie, later a graduate of Cornell, a skilled mechanical engineer. Miss Cora Hoyt entered the drygoods house of Christman & Blendurg, and later married one of the firm, while Miss Sergeant, rich in her own right, did not enter the business world other than to look after her real estate hold- ings.
[In the section of this work devoted to the last decade will be found a list of the graduates from 1888 to 1910, together with such data as is obtainable from the superintendent's report for 1910.]
The High School Alumni was organized the week following the grad- uation of the first class in 1888, with W. A. Nickell as president and Johanna Becker as secretary.
THE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
The honor of founding the Joplin Public School Library belongs to Philip Arnold, and connected with its establishment is the following incident.
In 1881, when the high school occupied but one room in the original Central school the library was founded.
One day the topic in history was about the founding of Yale. The lesson was a reminiscence of the struggle undergone in the establishment of the Yale college library, and related at length how eleven preachers had each brought a book, and dedicated it to the founding of that famous collection.
The next morning Mr. Arnold brought a book to the school, and pre- sented it as the initial volume for the founding of a high school library. Some of the pupils followed his example and thus was the nucleus formed for the present magnificent collection of works on all scientific and educational topics.
This small collection of books gradually grew and in 1888, on the 22nd of February a library entertainment was given by the public schools and annually thereafter for a number of years on that date, a library benefit was had. In 1890 the school board made an appropria- tion for library purposes and from then until now a library fund has been a part of the annual taxation. In 1891 the library work was ex- tended to the grade schools and a number of good books placed in each room in the city. Previous to the building of the public library the high school list of books had grown to 3,000 volumes, but now, with the mag- nificent collection at the public reading rooms, the school library is not as much used as formerly.
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SCHOOL DISTRICT OF JOPLIN ORGANIZED
During the middle 'eighties the matter of consolidating East Joplin, Lone Elm and West Joplin into a city district was agitated, but local jealousies prevented the union, the matter having twice been voted down. But during the winter of '88-9 a campaign of education was formally taken up by the school boards of East and West Joplin and the voters were made acquainted with the benefits to be derived from an abandon- ment of the county school district system.
The matter was submitted to a vote of the three districts in April, 1889, and resulted as follows: For consolidation-East Joplin, 124; West Joplin, 252; Lone Elm, 5.
Against-East Joplin, 1; West Joplin, 24; Lone Elm, 33.
Lone Elm having voted against the consolidation, made it necessary to refer the matter to the county commissioner for decision, and Com- missioner J. M. Stevenson decided in favor of the union and formally issned his proclamation organizing the school district of Joplin and calling for an election of six directors for the new district.
The following is a list of the directors who served the West Joplin district up to the consolidation: J. B. Sergeant, M. A. Stafford, C. J. G. Workizer, J. H. McCoy, William Carter, J. E. H. Chapman, R. L. Stiles, Y. J. Howell, William Byers, J. G. Mathews, Galen Spencer, W. J. Haslett, C. W. Dykeman, W. S. Harmony, S. C. Price, J. C. Mason, A. W. Stillwell, J. A. Shepherd. W. B. McAntire, W. V. White. W. P. Owen, L. A. Fillmore.
FIRST BOARD OF EDUCATION OF NEW DISTRICT
At the special election for members of the board of education there were sixteen candidates and the voting was heavy. The following re- ceived the higher number of votes and were declared elected: F. E. Williams, W. B. Halyard, George W. Payton, O. B. Hamlin, D. A. Pres- ton and W. V. White. The board organized by the election of F. E. Williams as president, O. B. Hamlin, vice president and D. W. Wenrich, clerk.
The emimeration of the consolidated district showed 2,634 boys and girls between the ages of six and 20.
THE FIRST CORPS OF TEACHERS
The new board of education selected the following corps for the con- solidated school district of Joplin: Superintendent, R. D. Shannon ; principal High School, S. A. Underwood; assistant High School, V. L. Vawter.
Central School teachers: Clara Ditte, Lola Spear, Laura Snyder, Jennie Shannon, Cora Lichliter, Virgie Van Meeter, Mrs. S. J. Haven and Mattie Greere.
East Joplin School-Principal, L. W. Kost; teachers, V. Lectie Peaks, Kate Reid and Mamie Robertson.
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East Fourth Street School-Principal, Maggie Murphy; assistant, Willie Franklin.
West Fourth Street School-Principal, Mollie Robertson; teachers, Addie Ellison and Emma V. Shorters.
Byersville School-Principal, Joel T. Livingston; assistant, Ida Colfre.
Lone Elm School-Principal, W. A. Niekell; assistant, Tillie Ilamilton.
Perkins Avenue School-Mrs. Addie Wood.
Colored School-W. T. Greene.
With the consolidation of the schools, the high school eurrieulum was revised and made a full four-years' course and for the past twelve years has been recognized by the State University and State Teachers' Normal Schools, its graduates being admitted without examination to those institutions
CROWDED CONDITION, FALL OF 1889
The boom which came on in 1889 brought to the city a great number of people and the publie schools were erowded from the very beginning. In many of the primary rooms more than a hundred pupils were en- rolled and it became necessary to resort to half-day sessions in ten of the twenty-six rooms.
We will continue the school record in our seetion of the '90s.
THE CONVENT
In 1885 the Our Lady of Merey Convent was established in Joplin by the Sisters of Merey. The school was formally opened in the fall of 1886 and was patronized by some of the best families of Joplin, irrespective of religious belief.
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